In the video below, Meagan Thompson reports on the 5L Ranch in Sheridan, which bought a pellet press to make their own alfalfa pellets for feed and fertilizer. They now sell these pellets as 5L Premier Pellets.
It’s hard to know where the circle begins and ends for the 5L Ranch operation based in the Ruby Valley. Does it begin here at their alfalfa pellet factory? Or does it begin with the livestock? Either way, the family business thrives on diversification.
"From the field that we are growing, to the cattle that’s eating it, to the steak on your plate. It’s all done right here," says Lariss Oldenburger, one of the four siblings who participate in the family farming and ranching operation.
She says this kind of full-circle operation is successful because each family member contributes based on their strengths.
"Day to day, I just make pellets basically," says Logan Mehlhoff. His unofficial title is the pellet guy. He looks on as giant bales of alfalfa are broken down into tiny pellets.
Mehlhoff gets help at the mill from the other family members, especially if something breaks.
"I’m the mechanic slash tractor operator, farmer of the company, I guess. If something breaks, I get the phone calls for that," says Laramie Mehlhoff. He spends most of his time tending the vast fields of alfalfa that are spread out across Montana.
"I’m thankful that my dad is a very forward-thinker, always thinking out of the box and he has passed that on to every one of us, to be honest," says Oldenburger.
As the bales of alfalfa break down, the scent of summer fills the pellet room and a fine green dust settles on some surfaces.
The alfalfa pellet mill is a new component to the family business that enables the 5L to fertilize their fields and feed their Red Angus seedstock herd – the largest in the U.S.
Oldenburger stands at the end of the pellet line and holds a bag up to the spout. Tiny green pellets sound like water flowing over rocks as they fill the bag.
Oldenburger says new endeavors like selling the alfalfa pellet also help to protect their way of life as a ninth-generation Montana ranch family.
"Generations passed down – a lot of them are on the same ground. You know, it’s handed down to them. That’s not our story. My grandpa lost everything – the entire ranch in Southwest Montana, in Livingston, when interest rates went to 21 percent in 1988," says Oldenburger.
Since then, the family has been rebuilding with strategic operations, like the pellet mill and direct-to-consumer beef sales, in addition to farming and ranching. The individual skills of each family member are a building block that strengthens the business.
"From starting with nothing to being where we are now, that is taking a foundation and building blocks. And, I mean, with us being the next generation coming on to that... that’s huge. Each of us have our own blocks and adding those to that foundation to where we can make that...not just the foundation but each level strong as it goes."
The family business is more than a job, it's a way of life.
"Ranching is a lifestyle, you know? If you don’t have passion for it, you wouldn’t be here, none of us would be."
